


Kegs and Red Solo Cups

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: AU, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Morning Sickness, Mpreg, Sick Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-26 01:24:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16209740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jensen’s been dating OMC for awhile and they seem perfect. So when OMC starts asking for a family, J1 gets swept up in the promises of domestic bliss.Once he's actually pregnant though, things change. It's a hard pregnancy and Jensen’s sick as a dog morning, noon and night, every single day. It doesn't take long for OMC boyfriend to be finding excuses to be out of the apartment as much as possible, eventually doing a complete fade outJensen isn't taking very good care of himself. He ends up getting too dehydrated and faints in the hallway of their apartment building. His neighbor, Jared gets him the hospital and stays with him.Somehow this gets cute and comforty and ends up with an eventual and happy J1/J2 ending.





	Kegs and Red Solo Cups

"Oh, Tripp, he's lovely," she said, then she cackled. No doubt she meant to be effervescent, but she just sounded drunken. "Promise me you'll marry this one."

Jensen was about twenty feet away, trying to get a drink from the bar when he heard the platinum blonde woman say this to his boyfriend. The bar was a full bar, with bartender, even though this was supposedly just a little Memorial Day weekend get together. And no, they didn't have Bud or Coors or anything normal. The only beer they had was import or some weird ass microbrew shit. Jensen was a Texas boy and he didn't drink import. Fuck Amstel Light. 

The platinum blonde woman was Barbara Keller, Tripp's mom. Jensen had been brought here to be shown off to Tripp's parents. He'd been groomed, forced to shave on a Saturday, put into clothes picked out by Tripp, dressier by far than anything Jensen ever wore to work. Hell, dressier than the suit he'd worn to his sister's wedding last summer. It wasn't that Jensen was intimidated by the wealth Tripp's family had. He came from Texas oil money himself. His parents' spread outside Dallas dwarfed than the Keller's Connecticut house. It was just that they were so stuffy. A summer party in his family meant kegs and red solo cups. It meant barbecue maybe a pork pull if it was a huge crowd, not itsy bitsy canapés passed by catering staff and a barman who couldn't even give him a Bud. 

The white coated barman finished making the batch of martinis he'd left Jensen for and finally turned back to take Jensen's order.

"Guess I'll settle for a Heineken," Jensen said. 

Then suddenly, there was someone at his elbow, Mrs. Keller, wrapping her arm around his arm. "Perhaps just a diet Coke for Mr. Ackles here," she told the barman. "Or a diet Sprite maybe? Tripp told me you two have decided to try for a baby."

The hell? It wasn't like he was pregnant yet. "We were just talking about it on the way up," Jensen said. "We haven't come to any decisions. I'm not pregnant yet."

He'd have to get the IUD out before he could even get pregnant. Admittedly, he was pretty sure he'd be making that appointment come Tuesday morning. Things were looking really good. Tripp adored him. They'd just moved into this amazing new condo together. Jensen was settling in to his new job as a physical therapist in a boutique sports medicine practice, working for some of the best orthos in town. Tripp had just made district VP of marketing. Tripp was talking rings and weddings. 

Of course, it was traditional to wait until after the birth of a first child for the wedding. Too many Omegas were sterile or had such problematic pregnancies that they might as well be. Not in Jensen's family though. The Omegas in his family were known for their healthy, easy pregnancies and Jensen didn't have any reason to think it would be different for him. 

Jensen looked around him. The big, lush lawn around him was perfectly green. The day was warm, but not too warm. He was surrounded by happy, laughing people. To the left, Tripp was now standing with his dad, who was Jr. and his grandfather, who was Sr. They were all strong, hearty Alphas, with sharp jaw lines and ice blue eyes. Tripp was gorgeous and if his grandfather was any indication, he'd just get better with age. They laughed together at some joke and then Tripp's grandfather punched him lightly on the arm before patting him lovingly on the back. A second or so later, Tripp excused himself and came strolling over to Jensen with an easy, lazy lope, covering the distance quickly with little effort. He wrapped his arms around Jensen in easy affection.

"Hey, baby, what's going on? You still trying to pick out a drink?"

"No, I'll just get a diet Sprite," Jensen said, decision suddenly made. 

"So is that a yes to our earlier talk, Jen?" Tripp asked. 

"Yeah, definitely a yes."

"Wonderful!" Tripp said, lifting Jensen up into his strong arms, arm across Jensen's back and under his knees. He was shorter than Jensen, but broader of shoulder and stronger. "We are going to be so happy. So happy."

Then he laid his lips gently on Jensen's lips for a brief kiss, then spun him around once before setting him down. 

***

 

Nearly five months later, things were not quite so happy. 

Infertility hadn't been a problem, like Jensen knew it wouldn't. He'd made the appointment to get his birth control taken out the week after Memorial Day and had been pregnant before the end of June. Not twins, like Tripp had been talking up, hoping for. Just one, healthy so far, baby, gender as yet unknown. 

It was Jensen who wasn't healthy. The morning sickness had hit early and hard and had not yet relented. He hadn't been able to go to the Kellers' Fourth of July party because he'd been curled around a toilet. Tripp had been super mad about that. He'd wanted to make their big announcement to his family at that party, not wanting to wait until the end of the first trimester, like Jensen had wanted. Apparently he'd made it without Jensen, after getting so drunk that his older sister's husband had to drive him home the next morning, not sober yet. 

This morning had started, as all mornings had lately, with Jensen waking to a surly stomach and throwing himself out of bed and into their en suite. Keeping saltines by the bedside had turned out to be useless. As had ginger chews, motion sickness bracelets, aromatherapy, acupuncture, vitamin B6 and Zofran. He'd had big hopes about it going away with the end of the first trimester, but it hadn't. It was well into his fourth month and not showing any signs of getting better.

There wasn't even that much to throw up, as he really hadn't gotten much dinner inside him last night. Just some crackers with butter on them. Anything more pungent was right out. Who knew that chicken breast, or peas, or milk, for that matter, could smell so bad? After the mostly clear liquid had been evacuated from his stomach, he rinsed his mouth with a handful of water from the bathroom sink, then spit it out. Then rinsed again. His mouth still tasted like bile but he didn't dare brush his teeth. The taste of toothpaste or mouthwash was enough to set him off again. 

By the time he could drag his sorry ass back to bed, Tripp was already out of it. Jensen paused at the door and listened. The shower was running in the guest suite bathroom. Ever since Jensen's morning sickness had kicked in, Tripp had taken over that bathroom for his own. The first couple of mornings, he had been right there, arm tenderly around Jensen's shoulder, but as it had become clear that this was not a few delicate throw ups that would go away as quickly as they came, Tripp had just gotten on with his life in the mornings. He had to get to work. He didn't have time to fuss over Jensen. 

That was the good thing about Tripp at least. He was good provider and hard worker. This pregnancy had inspired him to work even harder. There was always some special project that kept him late, some meeting he just couldn't get out of. 

Jensen made his way back to bed, weighing the risks of calling out, again, versus the effort that would be required to make his way into the office, only, probably, to be sent home again. His boss, Dr. Jeff Morgan, was the best boss you could ask for. He hadn't fired Jensen for this, which just about anyone else would have considering, though he was hinting that maybe Jensen might consider a leave of absence. 

Tripp made his way back into the bedroom long enough to grab a fresh suit and shirt from their closet. 

"You heading in to work today or not, Babe?" he asked. "I just want to let Annette know where to send the car to pick you up for your appointment."

Jensen groaned. He'd almost forgotten the appointment with the obstetrician. He was already missing nearly half his work day for the appointment anyway. "I'm just going to call in again. Maybe I should think about quitting. Jeff has been talking about me taking leave already."

"You shouldn't do that, Babe," Tripp said. Why was he grabbing more than one suit? He'd picked out three- the dark gray, the navy and the gray chalk stripe. "You love your work. And I love that you love it."

"You going to meet me at Dr. Collin's office?" Jensen asked. "They're doing the ultrasound today. Supposed to find out what we're having."

"You know I'd love to," Tripp said, pulling socks out of the drawer. It looked like he was packing. Not just packing, but enough stuff for a week or longer. "But I've got this work thing. Conference. Last minute, but very essential."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Jensen asked. "I could have booked the appointment for another day."

"Last minute means last minute," Tripp said. "If I'd known, before, I would have mentioned it before. Look, gotta go. I'll call you."

He was gone before Jensen could even find the energy to call off work. 

***

At eleven thirty, Jensen found the strength to get out of bed. A glass of water, taken gingerly, sip by sip, didn't threaten make a reappearance. He took that as a good sign. Plain toast, similarly taken a bite at a time, was accepted and retained. He contemplated an apple, maybe some yogurt, but didn't want to push his luck just yet. 

The shower, it was good. He always felt shabby these days, haggard, but once he'd showered, put on a loose, black cashmere sweater and some maternity jeans, he didn't look so bad. His mouth still tasted like vomit, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. 

He made it downstairs to the lobby in plenty of time for his car and driver to show up. It was stupid. Jensen could have driven himself just fine, but once he'd moved in with Tripp, his husband to be was insistent that Jensen get rid of his own car. One of the perks of his job was a driver and they should use it. A pregnant Omega was just too vulnerable to whatever to be out driving on his own. What if something were to happen? So, Jensen had given in. He'd sold his truck. It wasn't like the Silverado would be a good vehicle to tote a baby around in anyway. No doubt after the first baby, Tripp would calm down and allow Jensen to get something sensible- a minivan of some kind, maybe a Suburban. 

He waited a while in the cavernous marble tiled building lobby for a while, looking longingly at the blue sky he could glimpse through the plate glass. When the driver didn't appear after fen minutes, he perched himself gingerly on the reproduction Le Corbusier sofa near the doorman's desk. 

"Still waiting for your driver, Mr. Ackles?" the doorman said, coming in with a small load of packages from Fed Ex, to be held at the desk until their owners could pick them up. . 

"Yeah," Jensen said. "Any chance he came early and left?"

"I'm sorry, no. I would have called you down as soon as he arrived," the doorman said. "Would you like your mail?"

Normally, he left it for Tripp to pick up at the end of the day. Tripp handled the bills, the few that couldn't be paid automatically. He said he didn't want Jensen to have to worry about the day to day stuff. 

"Sure, why not?" Jensen said and after a moment, the doorman brought him a small pile of envelopes. Most of it was the usual appeals from charity, the obvious junk mail like coupon mailers already sorted out and discarded. But there was also one of the credit card bills, for a card Jensen wasn't familiar with. It was apparently made out in both their names, but Jensen had never seen it before. Maybe he'd forgotten signing the application? Jensen opened it up, not even certain why, just knowing that he had a bad feeling in his stomach that wasn't morning sickness, for once.

He read down the list of charges. They were the sort of charges you'd see on the card of a rich man courting an Omega. Cartier. Tiffany's. Jensen definitely hadn't gotten any gifts of jewelry from Tripp lately. The Four Seasons. It looked like Tripp had charged a room a couple of times last month, but he hadn't taken Jensen there. There were a lot of restaurant charges too. But that could be explained, Jensen thought. This all could be explained, he decided. He tucked the credit card bill into his bag and figured he'd call Tripp tonight. They'd discuss things like grown ups and it would all be explained. 

Checking the time, realizing he'd be late if he didn't leave right now, he called Annette, Tripp's beta secretary. 

"Jensen, sweetie, how are you?" she asked, then, before he could answer, said, "Tripp's not in the office today. He took today off to be with you."

"Oh, yes. Of course," Jensen said, even as his stomach started lurching again. In another minute or two, he was going to disgrace himself right into the sleek, lacquered trash can next to the doorman's desk. "It's just that Tripp said he was going to have the car sent for my appointment and he went off to run another errand, so I'm kind of stuck."

"Oh, no, I am so sorry," Annette said. "He didn't mention you needing the car and I figured with him being with you, he would just take you to your appointment. I'll get it there in minutes, don't you worry."

"No, it's fine. I can just take a cab." Jensen said and ended the call. 

It was humiliating. Not only could his mate, his husband to be, not be bothered to come to this appointment with him, he couldn't even remember to make sure that Jensen had a ride there. When he himself had been the architect of Jensen needing a ride in the first place. He wondered, not for the first time lately, just what the hell he was getting himself into here. Even if Tripp hadn't checked out officially, he might as well have. He was almost definitely having an affair. Jensen was effectively having this baby alone and that wasn't a place he wanted to be. Not like he could do anything about it now, but he sure as hell wouldn't have gotten pregnant if he'd known he would be where he was now. 

He headed to the doorman's desk. 

"Can you hail me a cab, Harry? It looks like my driver isn't coming after all, due to a miscommunication."

"Sure, Mr. Ackles," Harry said, reaching for the phone. "It usually takes the service about ten, fifteen minutes to get someone over here."

"I don't mean call a cab, just hail me one from the street, like you would anyone else," Jensen said. The service, of course, meant the car company that was licensed, bonded and insured to keep Omegas safe. Which was stupid. Before he'd moved into this building with Tripp, no one had given a damn about his comings and goings. He'd taken regular street cabs with impunity and even taken the city bus regularly without incident. 

"I have instructions from Mr. Keller," Harry started. "And you're preg..."

"Well, I don't give a damn about any instructions from Tripp. Do you see him here? It's not like the condo is even his."

It was Jensen's alone, actually. Or rather, because his parents and the lawyers had insisted, held in trust with him as the sole beneficiary. He paid the monthly assessments too. This condo was Jensen's place and having the fucking doorman act like Jensen was some collared O from the fifties with Tripp as lord Alpha over him was intolerable. Another big slab of humiliation on top of the pile already built up. Jesus, it wasn't like he'd turned into some delicate flower, just because he was pregnant. 

"Hey, Jensen!" 

He turned around. It was their neighbor, Jared Padalecki. He'd shared the elevator a lot with the man and his obnoxiously friendly dogs. Tripp hated Jared, but it wasn't uncommon for Alphas to form a loathing for other Alphas they lived around. It was usually nothing personal, just territorial urges leftover from earlier, less civilized days. 

"What's going on? You need a lift somewhere? I'm heading out to the downtown. Wouldn't be a problem to take you most anywhere," he said. Unlike every other time Jensen had seen him, Jared wasn't dressed in running clothes. He was in a well cut gray suit. It seemed to emphasize how tall the man was and every inch of him the serious businessman. Even his longish hair was slicked back behind the ears. 

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get to my OB appointment which starts in about five minutes, but I couldn't impose."

"Absolutely you must impose. I insist. My feelings will be terribly hurt if you don't impose on me," Jared said.

And then he grinned. 

It was brilliant, it really was. The man's smile made the whole lobby light up. His dimples were adorable, if you could get away with saying that about an Alpha. 

"Okay, but only because you insist. I couldn't hurt your feelings," Jensen said. "The office is on State, near Main."

"And that's exactly where I'm headed too, so it's not out of my way a single block," Jared said. He turned to the doorman. "Is my car up front yet?"

Jared's car turned out to be a BMW SUV, too big a car for the city, but as they drove down State, Jared said, "I tried smaller cars. I really did. But they just didn't have enough leg room and head room for me to feel comfortable."

Traffic moved slowly for mid day, so they had plenty of time and silence to fill. 

"So, what do you do?" Jensen asked. "I never see you work regular hours."

"I own my own business. Security."

"Securities? Like stocks and bonds?"

"No, security. Like alarm systems. Also, we consult on computer security systems as well. We're sort of a one stop shop for anything security related. Personal as well as corporate. I'm working on an assessment today for a private hedge fund with offices in this area. Well, here we are. Are you going to be fine from here?"

"How did you know which building?" Jensen said. Jared had pulled up to the right one of a dozen, generic plate glass covered buildings in the area. The fact that it was medical offices was not posted anywhere except in small print by the door. 

"Like I said, I'm doing an in-depth security assessment. I know what's in every building in this area. That building has three different OBs offices in it, but there aren't any others in a six block area. If you can wait until two, I can take you to lunch, then back home again."

"No, I'll be fine," Jensen said, letting himself out of the car. "Thanks for the lift."

***

"So, just so you know, we can stream this to just about any location, so Mr. Keller doesn't have to miss this. We're even set up for FaceTime, so," Alona, the ultrasound tech, said. She was a pretty, blond Beta girl. She good looking and even kind of sexy in her scrubs, which no one, in Jensen's experience, was sexy in. "You know. He could just use his iphone or whatever."

"No, it's fine," Jensen said. "Tripp made it pretty clear his schedule doesn't allow him to see this right now. Can you, you know, record this for later?"

"Of course," she said. "All set on that. We can give you a disc, a usb stick or just a cloud location and log in. Whatever you want. We're full service here."

Then she got to work, spreading her jelly over his stomach, wielding her ultrasound wand. She chatted happily as she worked, but she wasn't talking about what was on the screen. Her voice might have been perky and upbeat, but her eyes were tight with worry that she couldn't disguise. 

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong with my baby?"

"I'm just going to finish taking the reading, then I have to get the doctor in here to talk to you. I'm just the tech. I can't diagnose anything or say anything."

It wasn't until later, when he was wiped clean of the gel, and sitting up, still in his open backed gown, that Dr. Collins came in. He smiled a lot usually, Dr. Collins did, but he wasn't smiling now. He ran his fingers through his already bushy hair and said, "Okay, so I'm going to give you an exam first, and then you can get dressed and we'll talk in my office about what needs to happen next. Now, have you had any bleeding, or unusual abdominal pain?"

"No, not at all," Jensen said. "Just the morning sickness going all day."

Then came the internal exam, which was never happy fun times. Then finally, Jensen could get dressed, and after that, he was led into Dr. Collins office. It was a soft space, with warm, peachy colored walls and paintings of landscapes. There was a desk, but it was off to the side. Instead, at the center of the room was a couch and a couple of chairs. Jensen noted the boxes of tissue placed discretely to the side, on the mahogany side tables. This was a room meant to soften bad news, a room where couples were told that their dreams of children were over, that the baby growing in them had already died. That's what he was steeling himself for- that he was going to be told that his baby was dead inside him. 

"Okay," he said, sitting down on the couch across from Dr. Collins. "I think I know this conversation. My baby doesn't have a heartbeat, you're going to have to schedule a D & E."

Dr. Collins' jaw dropped slightly before he got it under control and he said, softly, of course, "No, no, not at all. Nothing like that. Your baby has a strong heartbeat and is doing well. He, and he's going to be an Omega, is developing perfectly. Which isn't to say that your ultrasound didn't reveal some issues that we will have to consider to bring you to a healthy, full term, successful pregnancy."

"What issues?" Jensen asked. 

"I understand that Mr. Keller couldn't be here today, but is there someone you can call? Who could pick you up from the office?"

For a minute, Jensen couldn't help but think of Jared and his grin and his stupidly big car. But that was ridiculous. He hardly knew the guy. They nodded at each other in the elevator. Today's ride didn't mean anything.

"What issues?" 

"Well, the placenta is growing very low on the wall of your uterus. This is a condition known as placenta previa. Thankfully, this is in a minor degree of the condition. It may well resolve itself before the birth of your child. We'll have to monitor you a good bit more closely than otherwise. If it hasn't resolved before birth, we may need to plan a c-section for you. But before then, there's a risk of vaginal bleeding, placental abruption, even miscarriage. I understand you work a physically demanding job."

When he could, he did anyway. "I'm a physical therapist," he agreed. 

"I'm afraid you should strongly consider taking medical leave right away," Dr. Collins said. "I can provide the appropriate documentation for your employers."

He was sent away, at last, with a thick stack of papers explaining his condition and the restrictions he would have to put himself on. He read it on the cab trip back to the condo. No intercourse? As if that had been different than any other part of his pregnancy. More iron supplements. No straining on the toilet. And limited travel. He had to stay within close distance of emergency medical care at all times, just in case he started bleeding heavily. 

Well, crap. That ruled out heading home, which he'd been half thinking about ever since he'd found that credit card bill. They called his parents' retirement ranch 'just outside Dallas', but distances in Texas were huge. In reality, it was well over an hour away from a major medical center by car. Crap. He couldn't do anything right, could he? This should have been an easy pregnancy, like every other Omega pregnancy in his family. Instead, he was throwing up at all hours, growing his placenta in the wrong place, liable to break down and bleed to death at any minute. Well, fuck. 

And his husband to be, he could admit it to himself now, was busy checking out of this relationship. As was his right. No Alpha should get stuck with an Omega who couldn't grow a baby. Once he was back home and upstairs, on a hunch, he checked out Tripp's closet. It was over half empty, he realized. All he'd left behind was the crap. Things that Jensen had picked out for him that he didn't like to wear. That pair of cowboy boots he'd bought and worn once for their trip to meet Jensen's parents. The jeans that were worn out. The flannel shirt that matched one Jensen owned. Just the crap and detritus.

He'd been left. It was pretty clear to him now. Left and he hadn't even noticed it happening. Left and fucking Tripp hadn't said a word, just slithered on out of his life, like the snake that he was. Jensen had been too damn busy throwing up to notice his relationship going to hell. His perfect pregnancy had turned into a nightmare. He thought about just going to bed, but his stomach started heaving. He headed to the nearest toilet and reached it just in time to toss up some bile and chyme, very watery and frothy. 

***

He never bothered calling Tripp and the man just never bothered coming home. He never called. He was just gone. Jensen boxed up the crap that Tripp had left behind and just went on with his life as if the man just never existed. Somehow, it just seemed fitting that he would be abandoned like this. It was probably for the best. He couldn't have really been in love with Tripp. He didn't feel heartbroken or furious. The best he could come up with was a dull anger and disappointment, mostly in himself for falling for Tripp's easy lies. 

Against his doctor's orders, he didn't take leave from work. In fact, he approached it with new dedication, going in on mornings when previously he would have stayed at home, curled around his toilet. Dr. Morgan and others at the practice made noises about him needing to take better care of himself, but he wasn't their patient, and it wasn't like they were OBs. They were surgeons, for the most part. 

A month passed quickly. He saw Jared in the hall more often. The Alpha seemed to leave for work or running every day at the same time that Jensen did. They nodded to each other in the elevator. Jared offered him a ride to work a lot of the time. Funny how he always seemed to be heading in the same direction as Jensen, no matter what. Sometimes, Jensen even took him up on that ride. Mostly though, he kept things at hello, nice to see you and no further. The last thing he needed right now was another Alpha, sniffing around, getting confused about his place in things. 

See, the thing was, it wasn't like having this baby alone around took him out of the market, from the shame of carrying another man's baby. If anything, the proof of fertility made him even more desirable. But Jensen didn't want another man around. He didn't want an Alpha around period. They were unreliable, fickle. Selfish. Assholes.

So he kept to himself. He worked. He worked harder when the emotions threatened to overcome him. To fill time on the weekends, he found himself volunteering at the Omega shelter, working in their donated clothing center, sorting out the resale worthy from the rags that could only be recycled. It would have been okay. He should have been able to keep it up. 

Dr. Collins had put him on a new anti-emetic, which seemed to work. Except for when it didn't. So he'd spent the better part of the morning throwing up. He got it together in time to get to work, held it together through six clients, until Dr. Morgan had taken one look at him as they passed in the hallway. The doctor had looked him up and down. 

He said, "I don't know what you're even here for. You look like Hell, Jensen, and yes, that is my professional opinion. Go home. Call your OB."

Then he took Jensen's hand in his, pinched the loose skin on the back of Jensen's hand. It tented up and only slipped back into place slowly, a sign of dehydration. Which Jensen knew already. 

"Or better yet, go to the emergency room and have them put a pint or two of IV saline in you. Maybe we do that here at the clinic."

"I'll go home now," Jensen said. "Oral rehydration. Some rest, I'll be fine."

"Well, I'm not your doctor, or your Alpha," Dr. Morgan said, in a tone that implied that things would be vastly different if either were true.

"I will be fine," Jensen said. 

He walked the ten or so blocks to the condo, somehow managing to make it up to his floor on his own power. Jared was coming out of his apartment about the same time Jensen was reaching for his keys. Jared was in running clothes, his two dogs leashed up at his side. 

Jensen got about as far as, "Hi, Jar-" before everything went a little swimmy, then totally black. 

 

He woke up in the ambulance. His head hurt. His whole body ached. He was cold, shivering cold. His arm sort of pinched right at the crook of the elbow. He identified the cause of that. They hadn't waited until the hospital to start pumping IV fluids into him. And the big, goofy guy from down the hallway was riding in the ambulance with him, only his face was serious and set into a scowl. 

"Hurts," Jensen murmured. 

"Your head? I'll bet," Jared said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough to catch you. You went down like that and you hit your head on the floor. Just lie still and let the EMTs take care of you."

So Jensen let himself drift and they were stopped soon enough, which was a relief. It felt like his head was throbbing in time to the ambulance siren. He was rolled out of the ambulance, into brief cold darkness, then into a bright place. He was awake and aware enough to realize people were hovering around him, working on him, but not aware enough to answer questions asked of him. He'd realize someone was asking him a question, but by the time he could marshall enough brain power to work on it, he'd forgotten what the question was. It just seemed easier to not answer, to just drift, then to sleep. 

He woke later. It must have been hours later, because he was in a hospital room. He had a window and through the window, he could see that it was night. It couldn't be that bad, because the room lacked the busy brightness of an ICU ward. Instead, it was kind of dim, with just the fluorescent bar light near the head of the bed on. The rest of the room lights were off. 

He wasn't alone. His giant Alpha neighbor was perched in the chair next to his bed, the blue light from his smart phone washing over his face. He looked like he was writing an email or something. Jared stuck the phone away in a pocket the instant he realized Jensen was awake.

"Hey," he said, with a smile. "Good to see you. You gave us all a scare."

"What happened?" Jensen asked. He sort of knew, but thought maybe he might have missed out on some of the important details.

"Do you remember the part where you fainted in the hallway?"

"Vaguely."

"Yeah, so, you hit your head on the way down. You clocked yourself pretty good. Major league concussion territory. The CT was negative for bleeds or fracture at least, but they're going to be monitoring you for brain swelling, that sort of thing. Plus, add in the severe dehydration and low blood sugar. Oh, and I kind of lied and said I was your Alpha so they wouldn't send me away. I figured you needed someone to watch out for you."

"Thanks, I guess," Jensen said. 

"If you want, I can track down Tripp and get him here."

"If he cared, he'd be here already," Jensen said. "Don't you dare call him."

"So, you should probably rest some more. No doubt the nurse is going to be by soon to check on you."

Actually, it was a doctor that came by in under five minutes and she did irritating things, like shine lights right into Jensen's eyes and asked him questions that actually made Jensen have to think, obviously trying to make sure he was doing okay cognitively. 

"I didn't hurt my baby at all, did I?" Jensen asked. He'd had this nagging fear that he'd miscarried and no one told him. It wasn't like he'd felt the baby move inside him since he'd woken. 

"Not at all," the doctor reassured him. "That monitor there is a fetal monitor. See the blips on the screen. That's his heartbeat. Nice and strong. We've called your OB, just to be on the safe side. Dr. Collins has a delivery apparently, but Dr. Ferris should be here before too long."

Only after she said that did Jensen feel the contacts on his belly. He touched his belly, feeling a wash of fierce, protective love flood through him. His baby was okay. Such a strange antinomy, not knowing if he wanted to be pregnant, feeling trapped by it and yet, at the same time, such fierce love for his baby permeating his every cell. He didn't want to be pregnant but at the same time, he would probably die if he miscarried. 

The doctor asked him a few more questions and then she left him, making notations on a chart first. As best he could with the IV, Jensen tried to find a comfortable position on his side. Not that he was huge yet, but it was more comfortable with the baby belly. 

"Let me know if you need anything," Jared said from his chair. 

"You don't have to stay. I'll be okay on my own."

"Yeah, but I want to stay. I'll go if you insist, but I'd rather stay."

"Knock yourself out," Jensen said and closed his eyes. 

Later, he woke again and Dr. Ferris was there. She was reading his chart, but when she noticed he was awake, she set it aside. She frowned. "So, if I understand correctly, Jensen, not only did you not call us to adjust your nausea meds when you were vomiting multiple times a day again, you did not follow Dr. Collins' strong recommendation that you take leave from work. So we've got severe dehydration, depleted electrolytes, and anemia, with a brand new concussion as the cherry on top. Is that about the size of it?"

He nodded but didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't explain to her how he couldn't stand the idea of being alone all day in the echoing, empty condo with nothing and no one but himself and the baby. 

"Okay, so we adjust the meds again. There are still a few we can try. We're already making good time fixing the dehydration and electrolyte problem," she said, nodding at the IV dripping into him. "Have you not taken your leave because you're afraid of losing your job? Because I have no problem calling your supervisor myself and reading him or her the riot act."

"No, that's not it," Jensen said. 

"Okay, so what do I have to do to get you to understand that this is not a suggestion? You have to get off your feet and take care of yourself or you will lose your baby. Trust me, Misha or myself will have no problem ordering hospital bed rest if we have to. Now that all the brass tacks are out on the table, you mind if I have a little look see? Is this Tripp?"

Since Jensen had mostly only seen Dr. Collins, it made sense that Dr. Ferris wouldn't know Tripp. It wasn't like the man had bothered to come to any of Jensen's appointments other than the first one. 

"No, I'm not with Tripp any longer," Jensen said. "This is Jared Padalecki. My."

"New guy," Jared said. "But if you want me to clear out for this part, Honey, I can."

"No, please, stay, Sweetie," Jensen said, not sure why, other than it was a kind of a game of chicken. If Jared was going to play that way, Jensen wouldn't back down. Tripp had always claimed to be grossed out by the sight of Omega parts in the context of a medical exam. Jared just got up from his chair. As he stood, it was like watching a huge crane unfold itself and erect itself to full height. Damn the man was tall. Jared stood by the head of the bed and he brushed Jensen's hair off his forehead, with a smile.

Dr. Ferris' exam was mercifully brief, almost perfunctory. "Well, no sign of labor, cervix not a bit dilated. The ultrasound they performed earlier is showing that the placenta previa hasn't improved any, but it's still early yet. I'm going to recommend they keep you another couple of days, getting fluids and monitoring you and that after that you stop being such an idiot and take it easy."

Then she rounded on Jared, "You, if you can get him to see sense, you make him take better care of himself."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jared said, gravely. 

After that, their time with her was over and they were left to the normal hospital routine. 

"She always like that?" Jared asked. 

"Pretty much," Jensen said. "Luckily she isn't my usual doctor, just the one on call. What time is it again?"

"About eight in the evening. You might want to try and get some sleep while you can."

"Maybe could you turn on the TV?" Jensen asked, thinking it might fill up the awkward spaces where conversation had to go, because it was too damn tiring to be talking right now.

"You ever have a concussion before?"

Jensen shook his head, gingerly. It ached and moving it was far more effort than it should be. His parents hadn't been terribly protective of their only Omega son, but they had kept him out of high impact sports like football, he'd never been in a serious car crash, never really had a bad accident before.

"Then trust me, you don't want the TV. Rest, which means quiet, no tv, no phone, no computer, no reading. Just close your eyes and rest."

"You've had a concussion?"

"A few in my time," Jared said. "In private security, remember? It can get rough."

"So you're a bodyguard?"

"Have been. It's not as exciting as it sounds, mostly, except for the few, rare occasions it's way, way too exciting. I'll tell you more about it later. For now, get some sleep."

So Jensen closed his eyes and amazingly enough, he fell back asleep.

***

The next couple of days in the hospital passed with mind numbing, grinding boredom. He slept a lot. Found out that Jared was right about the television, that he couldn't tolerate it and its noise. His mom freaked out and threatened to fly up to take care of him, but he persuaded her not to do it. Dr. Morgan stopped by with flowers and threats to kick Jensen's ass if he dared show up to work before he had full medical clearance, preferably not until after the baby was born. 

As for Jared, he seemed never to leave Jensen's side, except that sometimes Jensen would wake up from one of his naps and Jared would be freshly shaved, in new clothes. Or he would be opening up a tote bag filled up with plastic containers full of food. Not restaurant food, seemingly. And either the new anti nausea meds were working better or this was the food of the angels, because it always smelled fantastic and Jensen could keep it down. The hospital food was revolting but Jared helped Jensen get rid of it, eating it himself, as well as a portion of the food he brought it. 

"My personal chef made it," Jared said, after Jensen asked where Jared was finding the time to cook. "Normally, she makes me a week ahead, stuff to be reheated and such. But I explained your situation and she took pity on me. It's all fresh every day and she's also a nutritionist, so she designed the menu with you having a baby on board in mind."

"You have a personal chef?"

"I'm very good at a lot of things, but cooking is not one of them. It's more cost effective overall than eating out at restaurants for every meal. One thing I'm good at is logistics, calculating the best uses of the assets you have. Paying a personal chef makes sense for my particular situation."

So Jensen shrugged and forked out another bite of the best enchiladas he'd eaten outside of Texas. Yesterday, it had been cabbage rolls 

Around midway through the second day, Jensen suddenly realized something. It was the middle of the day and Jared was just sitting there with him all the time. And it wasn't the weekend. "Don't you have to work or something?" he asked. 

"I own the company. I set my own work schedule. And I've been working plenty when you're asleep, which you've been doing a lot of," he said. He held up his smart phone. "This is all I need to do ninety percent of what I do."

"Oh. Okay," Jensen said. "But you know, you don't need to babysit me."

"I like being here with you. When you're awake anyway, you're sweet and funny."

"And when I'm asleep?"

"You have the most adorable snore."

"It's just the baby. I don't snore," Jensen said. 

"Sure you don't."

***

It was four full days before he'd recovered enough for the hospital to consider releasing him. Perhaps they were just being cautious with a pregnant Omega with a risk of miscarriage, or perhaps Dr. Ferris had put the fear of God into them, but his head had stopped ringing and aching mostly by the third day. By the fourth day, he was watching TV, asking for his own smart phone and even being able to send an email or two before his eyes started going swimmy again. 

Late in the afternoon, almost in the evening, the doctor finally signed his release papers and he was wheeled out to where Jared's car waited. Jared drove them the short distance from the hospital to the building they both lived. Jared escorted him up to his condo, arms filled with the couple of blooming plants that his mother had sent to him. Jensen went for his own door.

Jared said, "Hey, I don't know what you've got in the fridge or what state everything is in there. Why don't you spend the night in my guest room and in the morning, we'll go over together and get stuff set up for you. I'll go shopping for you. "

Because he was too tired to protest, he just shrugged and followed Jared down the hall the few more steps to his place. Jared opened the door with just one key.

"I would've thought with you in security there'd be retina scans and palm print locks," Jensen said. "Those laser things like in the movies."

Jared chuckled a little and it did turn out he had a home security system of some kind, as he typed a code into a little keypad by his door. His pin was a lot longer than average. Not just four digits, but nine by Jensen's count of the beeps. 

"Nope," Jared said. "Those laser things are just to make good movie scenes. Now, the guest room is this way, it has an en suite. My bedroom is there, if you need anything in the middle of the night."

Through the open doorway, Jensen could see see a large, but comfortable looking bedroom. There weren't any clothes on the floor, but the bed was unmade, a snowy white duvet rumpled up into something like a nest with a couple of large dogs in it. Jared looked at the scene and sighed, then said, in a sure, steady voice, "Sadie, Harley, Khemn yea."

A couple of black muzzles poked out of the bedding, then suddenly, there were eight heavy feet clomping at full speed across the room. 

"Sed ne," Jared said and the pair of dogs both dropped to their haunches in a perfect sit, still, at attention, as if waiting for orders. Jared gave them. "Kotec."

The bigger male trotted back into the bedroom right away, heading for one of two wire crates set in the corner nearest the bed. The other dog just turned her head sideways and wagged her tail, as if she thought the command was just a suggestion. Jared repeated, "Kotec."

She finally took the order, with a whine, and found her way into her crate. She settled in with her head resting on her front legs and whined again as Jared shut them both into the crates with soft words that sounded like praise and a small dog biscuit.

"It's just for a bit," Jared said. "Just until we get you settled. I should really take them out running tonight."

"What did you speak to them in? I thought that attack dogs were all trained in German, but that wasn't German."

"Too many people know German," Jared said. "It's Czech, and they're not attack dogs. We're working on Schutzhund training, but they're just pets, mostly." 

They went to the guest room that Jared had pointed out earlier, not that Jensen needed help to find it. Jared's apartment was laid out exactly like his own, down to the type of handles used in the guest room shower. 

"Gen, that's my personal chef, will be bringing dinner by in about an hour and a half" Jared said as Jensen plopped himself down on the guest room bed. "I can go get anything you want from your place, or if not, this is a probably a good time for me to take the dogs out."

"I'll be fine," Jensen said, scooting up to the mound of pillows at the head of the bed. It was an awesome bed, like a freaking marshmallow. Better than his own. It was memory foam, a very plush, soft memory foam, topped up with all kind of pillows and duvets. "I'm just going to nap if that's okay."

"Good idea," Jared said, backing out of the room. He flipped the light switch as he left the room. 

Jensen wasn't sure how he could be so comfortable in a strange Alpha's place so quickly, but the guy smelled good, so very good, and even the guest room had that trace of his scent. It felt like safety and protection. It felt, like for a little while at least, that he wasn't alone. He'd felt so alone and vulnerable after Tripp had left him. Funny how comforting Jared's smell was, even though there wasn't anything between them, Jared's pretending to be Jensen's fiancé notwithstanding. He found himself wondering, idly, what Jared's bed would be like. Would it be as awesome as this one? Would there be room for Jared, who was a giant and Jensen who was pretty big for an Omega, especially with a growing belly, and the two big dogs? Or were the dogs not really allowed in the bed, just using Jared's absence to sneak in. 

He didn't stay awake for long. It was dark, warm and comfortable, he was tired. He pulled pillows this way and that, to support his belly and make a little nest around himself. Then he was out, thoughts about Jared's bed forgotten for now. 

A while later, he slowly surfaced, becoming aware that there was light in the world and the smells of food. He wasn't sure if he'd call it good, but it didn't immediately make him hurl, maybe just a little churn in his guts. Then there was a loud, deep wuff and Jared saying, "Pfui." Then the dog was quiet.

Jensen slowly put it together. He was in Jared's condo, in the guest room. Jared was standing in the lit hallway, dogs behind him, looking into the dark room. 

"Oh, hey," he said. "I figured if you slept much longer, you wouldn't sleep at night. Jen brought dinner. It's fish, trout. She says you don't have to worry about mercury levels and I guess she has some magic trick to make it not smell so fishy."

Jensen dragged himself out of bed, searched out the shoes he'd jettisoned earlier. Shod, he followed Jared down the hallway to the big room that served as combo living room dining room. He and Tripp had never bothered setting up a dining room table but Jared had. It was a big, modern oval thing with a white marble top and a white pedestal base. The modern chairs surrounding it didn't look comfortable, but once Jensen had levered his ass down into one, it was wasn't half bad. There were lit candles and flowers on the table and everything. Jared disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with two china plates. 

"This some kind of special occasion?" Jensen asked, motioning in the general direction of the candles and flowers. 

"Oh, no. That's just one of Gen's things. Something about how her food needs to be treated with proper respect. I don't know how, but she always seems to know when I've been eating from tupperware in front of the TV and she gives me hell. She's fantastic in the kitchen, but she's like this terrifying ninja otherwise."

Something about the candles and there being an actual table and china plates made Jensen feel inspired. "You mind if I take the time to say grace? Just silently."

"Please," Jared said. He folded his hands and bowed his head slightly. 

Jensen thought about how lucky he was that he'd collapsed where he'd been able to get immediate help, and how there was no lasting damage to himself or his baby. He thought about how grateful he was that his baby was okay, despite everything. He was grateful, but puzzled to have this Alpha taking care of him, for reasons that weren't quite clear. He thanked God for all of this and everything else in his life, even for things that might not seem like blessings, like Tripp leaving, because at least it happened before they'd mated and married. Then he heard Jared's stomach rumbling, so he wrapped it up and opened his eyes. 

"Looks good," Jensen said, and it was.

Later, Jared wouldn't let him lift so much as a fingertip, not even letting him carry his own plate into the kitchen, saying Jensen was a guest and his mama would whoop his ass if she thought he'd lapsed even a little bit in the hospitality she taught him. When that simple task was taken care of, Jared asked, "You mind if I watch the game?"

"What's on?"

"Cowboys versus Browns."

With that, they headed over to Jared's living room. He had a huge sectional sofa in leather, long enough that two tall men could stretch out comfortably on it. He had a huge flat screen hung on the wall with a good surround sound system, with apparently every satellite channel ever beamed from space. In short, everything a man could want. 

Jensen still didn't have a television in his own place. They never had gotten one, mostly because Tripp didn't want one in the living room. He thought it looked tacky to have one in that space. He'd wanted to put it in the bedroom, which Jensen wouldn't have on the grounds that it interrupted sleep, And he didn't want to end up as the stereotypical couple watching late night television instead of making love. 

But Jared's set up was sweet. The television itself was wall mounted, the stand underneath for the receiver boxes was unobtrusive, the surround sound speakers blended into the wall color. Jensen must have said out loud that it was sweet, because Jared answered. 

"I know, right? A man's gotta have his priorities straight, put his money where it matters."

Then they shut up and watched the game, silent mostly, except for perfectly necessary exclamations about how much of an idiot the ref was and similar. And shouts when goals were made

"This is awesome," Jensen said during a commercial. "I haven't just sat and watched the game since I moved in with Tripp. He didn't like it when I watched."

"One of those Alphas likes a feminine Omega?"

"No, not really. He just thought football was vulgar."

"Huh." Jared said. "Maybe he was just jealous. Thought you were getting off on the tight end of the tight end."

Jensen snorted, never having been much of an ass man. His thing was shoulders, he liked well shaped shoulders and arms. They didn't have to be big, just nice looking. It was hard to tell what a man's shoulders really looked like under all the that uniform padding.

When the Browns had been thoroughly crushed and the commentators were wrapping things up, Jared stood up, stretched and then scratched his belly, revealing that it was flat, mostly hairless, but with just the most enticing traces of a treasure trail. It wasn't much of one, just downy hair under his navel. Jensen had a few inappropriate thoughts about putting his tongue right into that navel and seeing if he could get Jared to laugh. Or provoke another reaction. 

"So, you want some ice cream or something?" Jared asked. "With pickles? Isn't that what pregnant people are supposed to crave?"

"Ugh," Jensen said. He hadn't been craving much of anything lately. "No thanks, I thought I might go lie down again, if that's okay with you."

"Go on. Just let me know if you still want any ice cream. To eat in bed or whatever. With or without pickles."

He didn't take Jared up on the ice cream after all. He laid down, closed his eyes and before he knew it, it was morning. 

He woke to sun streaming onto his face through an unshaded window. Jensen had pretty much the same view from the guest room in his apartment, but because Jared's condo was a little further down the building, the partially blocked view of the park became a nearly unobstructed view of the expansive greens. The clouds of yesterday had gone and it was a perfect azure. 

He'd never undressed, so he just wandered down the hall, wondering if Jared would let him go back to his own apartment today. In the dining room area, Jared was working. He was at the dining room table, standing next to an older guy with a beard. They were going over big sheets of blueprints, talking about possible vulnerabilities. Jared stabbed at the paper in a couple of different places then said, "Here, here and here. Oh, and here and here, they've got great big blind spots in their camera coverage. I'm sure there are more, those are just what I see at first glance. The ones they have are ancient. We'll leave the old ones up, of course. A visible cam can be a good deterrent."

"But we sell them on a full coverage network," the man said. "Actually, it's about twenty blind spots over three floors that I see. I was thinking there's this nifty little camera, all wireless, infrared, you name it. Nokia is test marketing it, but I can get my hands on enough for the project. "

It was then that Jared looked up from the blueprint. He smiled at Jensen, his face dimpling with the big grin. "Hey, Sleepyhead. You doin' okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great," Jensen said, rubbing his belly. He was hovering on that weird brink between hungry and nausea. "I thought I'd just head back home. Looks like you're busy."

"Nah, Jim and me are pretty much wrapping things up here. Jim, this is Jensen. Jensen, this is Jim Beaver. He works for me. Heads up surveillance technology for me."

"How do," Jim said. He rolled up the pile of blueprints. "I'll just get on that thing you said. Nice to meet you Jensen."

Then he was gone, leaving Jared and Jensen alone, staring at each other over the dining room table. 

"So I was thinking of going home," Jensen said. 

Jared stood up. "I'll go with you."

"It's okay, really. It's just down the hallway. I'll call if I think I'm about to keel over and give myself another concussion."

"I just," Jared said. 

"I'm not that kind of Omega, needs some Alpha at my elbow all the time," Jensen said, starting to get irritated. Who did this guy think he was, butting into Jensen's life so completely, so suddenly. 

"Okay. Here are your new keys," Jared said, digging into a pocket and pulling out a ring with about six shiny, new keys. 

"What? New keys? Why did you get me new keys?"

"When you were in the hospital, there was a break in, in your place. The locks were broken. The cameras in the hall show it was your ex. He took some things and messed the place up. I didn't touch anything inside, so it's still a mess. I just sent over one of my locksmiths so that the place wouldn't stay unsecured."

"Oh," Jensen said, floored. Tripp had waited until he was in the hospital and then trashed the apartment they'd shared once. Why did he break the locks? It wasn't like Jensen had changed them or anything. "I guess I'd better go see what needs to be done. It can't be that bad."

"I didn't look too closely, but I think it's probably a lot worse than you think. Let me come with you." 

"How bad could it be? I'll be fine."

"I really think..."

"Alphas!"

Jared's jaw dropped a little, but then he shut his mouth, didn't say another word. Maybe he knew better than arguing with a pregnant Omega. 

"I will be fine."

"If you need any help picking up, just let me know. I just want to help."

So Jensen wandered down to his own apartment. It took a little doing, to figure out which of the keys went into which lock. There were three. And apparently a keyless deadbolt that could only be locked from inside of the apartment. At first, he thought he was more bothered by the thought of some strange locksmith standing at his door, adding locks than by the thought that Tripp had come back to take some of his things. 

Then he stepped into the living room. Tripp had trashed the place. It stank of whiskey, like a whole bottle had been poured all around. And piss. It smelled of piss. Alpha piss, Tripp's, as if he'd been marking the place. No, the man had pulled all of the few baby things that Jensen had bought and had been keeping in Tripp's former closet into the living room and piled them on the floor. Then soaked them with pee. He'd left a letter for Jensen too, written in sharpie marker on the white living room wall. 

"Now I know why you've been such a frigid bitch to me," it started. "Is that pup even mine?"

It went on for paragraphs about his supposed faults and what a bitch he was and how he'd ruined Tripp's life, but Jensen couldn't read any more of it. He turned away, walked back out the door. Locked it behind him. He walked the couple of feet down the hallway until he was back at Jared's door. He didn't pause before knocking on it. And Jared must have been waiting for him in the hallway because it was opened for him instantly. 

"Is that offer to hang out here for a while still good?" Jensen asked. 

"Of course. C'mon in," Jared said. He stepped back. When Jensen didn't move, Jared asked, "Bad?"

Jensen just shook his head, still kind of in shock about what had been done to his sweet little apartment. His nest had been fouled by the one person who was supposed to be there for him, Hell, who was supposed to be building that nest for him. Tripp had symbolically pissed all over his fatherhood. Jensen wasn't even sure what could be done to make things better. Alpha piss was pretty pungent. Even if he cleaned up well, the place would still smell.

Then suddenly, Jared was there, behind him, placing a gentle arm around his shoulder, talking softly. "I'm sorry. I thought about sending in a clean up crew so you wouldn't have to see any of that. I just didn't want to overstep. I felt bad enough about getting the locksmith in without telling you, but I couldn't just let your place stay unlocked and unsecured. Look, if you want, I can make some calls. Get crews out to your place. We can have it like it was before in less than twenty-four hours."

"I probably owe you a ton already for the locksmith," Jensen said, as Jared led him over to the sofa. Jensen sat down because he didn't know what else to do.

"Don't worry about it," Jared said. "That's the sort of thing my company does all the time. I run multiple full time crews. If you insist, I'll let you pay me back for the parts at cost."

"He pissed all over everything," Jensen said. "It's everywhere."

"Yeah, I can smell it from here," Jared said. "Look, are you going to let this cur mark all over your place? Or you going to let me send in a clean up crew?"

"Your crew can get that smell out?"

"Security of all kinds," Jared said. "Sometimes security is getting rid of some Alpha's territorial markings. My crew is good. Promise."

"Okay."

"Great!" Jared said, all huge smiles suddenly. He moved to hand Jensen the remote. "You just hang out and relax. I'll make a few calls and get this taken care of."

Jared stepped over to the other side of the room, phone in hand. Jensen didn't turn on the TV. He just didn't understand how things could have gone so sour, so quickly. Yeah, maybe he should have tried harder. He should have at least called Tripp, looking for him, but then maybe the man shouldn't have just moved out without a word. Only a few months ago, they were making happy plans, talking about maybe having to buy a bigger place. Now, this was crazy stalker material. This was it happens on Lifetime television stuff. And all the baby stuff, he'd have to replace it. Even if Jared's crew was so good they could get any hint of the smell out of it, Jensen would never forget coming across the small stack of things that had been so defiled. 

A while later, Jared came back to the sofa, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He said, "All taken care of. Should be done tomorrow, noon latest."

"Why are you doing this? Taking care of me?"

"Dunno. Just seems natural," Jared said. "Hand me the remote."

Jensen surrendered it with a shrug. Jared turned the set on and settled on a sports channel. "Or you can switch to anything you want. I've got to get back to work, but I'll just be over there in the dining room if you need anything."

So Jensen settled in to watch TV, some sports highlights show. He didn't pay close attention and before too long, he'd drifted to sleep, never even noticing when Jared picked up the remote he'd dropped and laid a blanket over him.

Lunch was cabbage rolls again, but Jensen really didn't mind, they were just that good. Jared, for his part, sucked them down, eating five rolls, to Jensen's two, along with a whole plate of these potato dumpling things that were surprisingly good. Maybe not surprising. It was kind of hard to go wrong with carbs lovingly cooked with real butter.

"Pierogi," Jared said, when Jensen asked about the dumpling things. "Even though I explained to Gen that my family is Polish in name only. We're far more Texan than anything."

"My family's from Texas too," Jensen said. 

"Whereabouts?"

"Dallas."

"San Antonio."

Well, that explained at least part of why Jared was just so damn comfortable to be around. He was Jensen's people in a way that Tripp and his family never were. 

"So, how'd you end up on the east coast?" he asked. 

"Complicated but boring story. I was going to be an actor, so I thought I had to move to New York, somehow never got there. Got my first job as a bodyguard and driver. To an actor. Closest I ever got. Took jobs here and there. Ended up working here in the city for a guy named Singer, taught me everything I know about security. When he retired, I bought out parts of his business. And you?"

"Pretty normal story, I suppose. I ended up going to school here. Liked it. Found a job and an Alpha. I thought I was supposed to have happy ever after, y'know? Turned out my prince was just a frog after all."

"Maybe just a turning on the road that gets you to where you're supposed to end up."

***

It was easy to relax in Jared's house. The furniture was big and soft, the television was huge and he had every cable channel known to man. He kept feeding Jensen too. Not just generous meals, but ample snacks every couple of hours. Jared ate like he was eating for two normal men. He encouraged Jensen to take large portions too. And Jensen wasn't sure how, if Jared had snuck a look at the labels on his medication or what, because at the right interval of hours, Jared was just there with a glass of water. 

It had gotten to be the next afternoon already, though, and maybe Jared was ready to punt Jensen out of his place.

"You know, I heard from my crew that your place is ready. You want to go see?"

Part of Jensen wanted to say, "No, not really." 

Then he wanted to just stay here forever, eating the food cooked by Jared's personal chef, sleeping on his memory foam bed, watching his big ass tv with stereo surround sound. 

But he didn't. He groaned and levered himself up out of Jared's plush sofa. He thumbed off the House Hunters International marathon. He tossed the remote back to the basket where it lived when it wasn't in use. "Time to pay the piper I guess."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Jared said. "If you want, just stay here for now. I feel better if I know I can keep an eye on you."

And that was how he somehow just never left Jared's apartment. He thumbed the TV back on, found a 'week in sports' show. Jared settled in next to him and it just seemed natural to warm up his feet by sticking them under Jared's thighs. Jared just smiled and shifted slightly, making a little more room for him. 

***

A month and a half later, he was still sleeping in Jared's guest room, spending most of his free time in front of the big tv screen. His baby grew. He put back on a little of the weight he'd lost throwing up for so long. No problems, relatively speaking. He'd been given a formal diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidum, but it was kept in check by the right combination of drugs. If he stopped them, it came back in spades. The placenta previa wasn't starting to resolve itself like Dr. Collins hoped it would. Jensen remained on semi bed rest and under close medical supervision, with an abruption always a possibility. At least he'd finally passed the point of viability. Not that he wanted to go early, but his baby was at a point where the doctors might be able to save him if something happened. 

Overall, he felt better than he had in months. So long as he kept up the drug regimen, he wasn't throwing up. Since he could eat, he felt stronger. He was no longer struggling through each day. Stupidly, he felt good enough to go back to work, though that wasn't a possibility, given his risk for abruption. He'd broached the topic with Dr. Collins last week and been completely shut down. 

He tried not to worry about the money. People thought he must have scads of cash in trust funds. While there was some money, it was mostly just enough to pay for the condo. The condo he wasn't using. He counted on the income from his job to pay for everything else, important things like insurance, which he counted on to pay the sure to be astronomical bills for this pregnancy. Yeah, he could ask he parents for money and they'd give him as much as he needed and more. But it was important to him to make it on his own. 

Finally one afternoon, he finally buckled down. The mail had been piling up, with what were obviously bills, some marked second and third notice. Jared was gone off to some meeting down town, promising he'd be back later. Jensen gathered up the mail he'd been avoiding, the computer so he could access his on-line accounts and his check books. He separated out bills that were only in Tripp's name, which weren't many, and then the bills in his name only along with the bills that both of them were on. There were more credit cards than he remembered there being. A lot more. He tore them open, one after the other, and stared in disbelief at the high balance on each of them. No, that couldn't be right. He'd always been very careful about seeing that his balances were paid off each month. 

Slowly, incredulously, he added them all up. Just paying the minimum payment due for all of them would take more money than Jensen earned in a month. By the time he had all the cards added up, the total balance due would buy a small but nice home back in Texas. Not with a pool, mind you, but with three bedrooms and central air, for sure. 

He studied the bills. Someone (Tripp) had been charging expensive restaurant meals, hotel rooms and things from all of the major department stores and jewelers. Shit, he should have thought of this before, like right when Tripp left. The new locks installed by Jared had locked the man out of his apartment, but Jensen had never separated their finances. 

Well, at least he could start that now. He called the customer service number on the first, biggest balance card. Navigated through the usual complicated phone trees, then waited on hold a long time before finally getting a human. 

"Hi," he said. "I need to cancel this card."

"And this is Jensen I'm speaking with?" the representative asked. 

"Yes, Jensen Ackles. I put in all my identification into the phone system, like it asked."

"It's just that I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to cancel this card at your request. We'll need you to have the Alpha card holder to call and cancel."

"What? You mean I can't even cancel a credit card taken out, using my credit, and my name. Look, I'm not his Omega mate. We're not married. We're not anything to each other any more."

"I'm sorry," he was told. "It's policy."

"I need to speak to your supervisor."

It was no good. No one at the credit card company would budge. They wouldn't cancel the card. Only the Alpha card holder could. Jensen was honestly gobsmacked. Beyond shocked. He'd never run into this kind of prejudice before. Sure, he recognized that there was genderism that affected him. He'd been steered into physical therapy, rather than being encouraged to go to medical school. He knew that things like property laws skewed to the advantage of the Alpha, which was why his parents had been so insistent on him putting the condo into trust, rather than simple ownership or co-owning it with Tripp. He but never thought something so basic as controlling his own credit would be denied him. 

Jensen got a bad feeling about things and he logged onto his bank accounts, to see what kind of money he had, for paying off some of these bills. He was still staring at the screen in disbelief when Jared got home. 

"Jen, what's the matter?" Jared asked. "What's going on?"

"He cleaned me out," Jensen said. "Bastard cleaned out every penny. Checking. Savings. He trashed my credit. He cashed out my freaking retirement account, Jared. Do you have any idea what penalties I'm going to owe the government in taxes on that one? And the worst part of it is, as far as I can tell, he had every legal right to do it. And if I put more money in those accounts now, he could take it. Or if I opened new accounts, he could access those. Apparently we  
cohabited long enough, he's my Alpha legally. The only thing he can't get to are the things my parents and grandparents put into trust for me."

Jared's face grew stormy, but he stayed calm. All he did was pull out his phone. "I know a lawyer," he said. "We'll get this straightened out for you. Maybe we can't get back what he took, but going forward, he can be cut off."

"I can't afford to pay a lawyer. Didn't you get that? He cleaned me out. I owe the banks thousands just in over draft fees. I have nothing. Worse than nothing. He put me into debt up to my eyeballs. I'm going to have to sell the condo and move back with my parents."

"Do you want to move back to Texas?" Jared asked. 

"Hell no. I mean, I miss it sometimes, but I can't just go crawling back to my mom and dad the first time things get a little hard."

Jensen, for the first time in all of this, was about ready to break down in tears. He thought he'd taken it well when Tripp had just left without a second thought. He'd been stoic when he'd been hospitalized. He'd been shocked but had adjusted when Tripp had vandalized his apartment. But this, this deliberate draining him of every cent, in such a way that would cause even more financial penalties, in a way that compromised his survival and that of his baby, was just too much to understand or handle. Why had he done it? Tripp came from money. Tripp had a damn good job of his own. He didn't need any of Jensen's. 

He realized that Jared was talking to him. "So, then you go on the offensive. You fight back for what's yours. Are you gonna be a man or you going to let some chump take you for every penny, and let him get away with it just because he's got a knot on his dick and you don't? You call my lawyer friend and you see what she says, ok? Look, I know her. She'll probably work for a percentage of what you recover from Tripp and if she doesn't think you've got a chance of getting it back, she'll at least talk to you for free because she owes me a favor. You've got nothing to lose."

Jared waited only for Jensen to make the tiniest of nods before pressing send on his phone. He stepped over to the other side of the room to make the call, but before too long, he pressed the phone into Jensen's hand and then when Jensen still stood there dumb, made a gesture for him to talk on the phone, thumb to ear, pinky finger to mouth. 

"Uh, hi," he said. 

"Hi, sweetie, I'm Katie, Katie Cassidy, Jared's friend," the woman on the phone said. Her voice was round, melodic and very assertive somehow. But not like Alpha assertive. "He says you need to talk to a lawyer about ditching some no good Alpha. Says you're still considered his Omega legally even though you were dumped months ago. You're in luck. Me and my girls are some of the most kick ass divorce lawyers in the state."

"If I could just get him off my accounts, I know I could straighten out all the rest before too long," Jensen said. "But I don't have anything to pay you with right now."

"Oh, sweetie, you don't pay us. Your ex does."

"But I was never married to him. Not mated to him."

"If you were co-habitating and he could open joint accounts with you, that's a pseudo-marital state and you need a legal separation."

"I guess. You probably think I'm stupid that I didn't know he could do this to me sooner."

"Nobody knows until it's them. People think Omega liberation is complete but they don't realize how many of the old coverture laws are still on the books, until some Alpha takes advantage of that fact. Now, Jared says you're pregnant."

"Yeah. Nearly six months."

"Oh, judges do not like that, an Alpha doing this to an Omega he left pregnant. I could probably even get you a big fat maintenance check every month if that's what you want."

"No, I just want him out of my accounts. I just want to be free of him."

"You come down to my office in the morning with all your info and we'll get it all started. I'll call Judge Huffman tonight and see if she'll hear an emergency injunction tomorrow to freeze him out and stop him bleeding you dry. Then we can work on legal separation, restitution and asset recovery."

The rest of their conversation was brief, her getting information about Tripp and how much Jensen thought was stolen. He hung up with another promise of an appointment and almost certainly a court date immediately. He handed the phone back over to Jared. 

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Uh, I like you a lot and I don't want you to go back to Texas. It would be really inconvenient for me to pack up and follow you there."

"You'd follow me to Texas?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh!"

Jensen had to sit down again. Because he'd known, oh, yeah, he'd known just what Jared's warm gazes and gentle caretaking had meant. But he hadn't known known. It was one of those sort of things that he'd just carefully not thought about over the last month. He known, sure. He'd been living in the man's house for a month, for God's sake. That meant something. But Jared had also been very circumspect, giving no hint of expectations. He hadn't tried to so much as kiss Jensen. 

"I just. You. And me. I didn't even think you'd want me that way."

"God, I've wanted you that way since the second I laid eyes on you. I kept my distance so long as Tripp was around, but since he took himself out of the picture, I didn't see any problem with me stepping in to take care of you. You didn't seem to mind."

"So you're happy to make time with an Omega pregnant with another man's baby and a busted up life? Possibly in debt hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"You're in good hands with Katie, Rachel and Lauren. If they can't unentangle you from Tripp, no one can. As for the baby, it's your baby you're pregnant with and if he wanted a part of that, he shouldn't have walked out on you."

"I. I have to think about this," Jensen said, suddenly full of panic. It wasn't so much that Jared was coming on so strong, but it was so soon. Even after the trashing of Jensen's place, it really hadn't sunk in until today that Tripp wasn't just throwing tantrums. There had been a part of Jensen that had thought maybe Tripp might want to come back some day. No. Tripp was gone and scorched the earth behind him. But it was too soon for another Alpha.

"I'm going to go home for the night," Jensen said. 

He hadn't actually stepped foot in his condo since the day he'd gone to find out just how badly Tripp had trashed the place. Jared had promised that the restoration specialists his company worked with had done their best job with the place. 

"I just need to think," Jensen said. He hurried back to the guest room he'd been occupying since he'd gotten out of the hospital and reclaimed his keys, the new set. He walked down the few feet of hallway that separated his place from Jared's and let himself into his own place. It was just, exactly as he remembered it, in every way, right down to the smell. A little stale from lack of habitation, but the reek of Alpha piss was gone, not a hint of it left. The writing was gone from the wall. The broken furniture had been repaired or replaced. 

The only thing different, out of place, was a small pile of shopping bags from various baby shops. He poked inside one and pulled out a tiny short sleeved sleeper with a baby giraffe and momma giraffe pattern in pale green pastel embroidery. It was an exact replica of one Tripp had ruined, only it was completely new, tags still on, receipt in the bag. He dug through the other bags and pulled out delicate, pastel clothes. Everything he'd bought before had been replaced, new and unsoiled. He set the baby clothes down in disbelief. 

Jared was the one who'd had this taken care of, and so well. He wandered around his apartment. Everything was clean, much cleaner than he'd ever kept it. The walls had been scrubbed. The living room walls had been painted. His closet had been one of the rooms that Tripp had trashed apparently, because he could smell that everything had been laundered or dry-cleaned, then hung up and organized. By type of clothing and color. Even the scrubs that he wore for work had been pressed and hung on hangers, then arranged in perfect rainbow order. 

Stunned, he ended up sitting down on the bed. It was different. It was a cushiony marshmallow, just like the memory foam bed he'd been using back at Jared's place. He assumed that it had to be replaced. If Tripp had gone to the bother of pissing all over the baby clothes, he certainly would have marked all over the mattress. 

Exhausted, feeling like a single, quivering nerve, aching to have a cry but not quite able to, Jensen flopped down onto his new mattress and tried to find a comfortable position. He tried to go to sleep. Failing that, he tried to think about anything else but Tripp and the meeting he would have tomorrow to start getting the man cut loose from his life. It didn't work. He tried not to think about Jared, who'd been nothing but the sweet and kind to Jensen since this had all started. 

It wasn't that it smelled bad in his place now, because it didn't. It smelled of cleaning chemicals, and a little bit of dust and not much else. But it still smelled wrong. It took him nearly two hours of lying on his bed, trying to sleep, to admit what was wrong wasn't what it did all smell like, but what it didn't smell like. 

It didn't smell even slightly of Jared. Not a bit. 

Funny how it had just taken a month and a half for the goofy, kind Alpha's scent to become the right scent, but it had. It didn't matter how much his brain thought it was too soon for another Alpha because his body had already gone and latched onto one. More than that, he had never felt this way about Tripp's scent. It hadn't bothered him in the same, visceral way when Tripp's scent was gone. It took him another half hour more to remember that it was about time for his evening medications and that they were all over a Jared's place. 

His stomach grumbled and he felt the first tweak of a feeling that was currently hunger, but that could easily become nausea if he didn't put something into it soon. He didn't bother checking his kitchen. It hadn't had much food before Tripp had trashed the place. He didn't have high hopes for it now. But Jared, he would have food. Probably he would have a delicious meal, cooked for them by Gen, ready to be reheated. He would have Jensen's nausea meds. He would have a warm, comfortable place that smelled right. That smelled like home. 

Jensen was suddenly aware of a driving rain pounding against the windows. It had been gray skies all day, but had finally let loose with what the radio was predicting was a freezing rain, which was predicted to coat everything with a half inch of ice. Even though it was warm enough in here, even though the windows were weatherproofed, Jensen shivered. 

Gathering himself up out of bed took a little while. His belly was definitely starting to get in the way of normal activities, but once upright, he was at Jared's door in a moment. He knocked.

It opened. Not quite immediately, but very quickly. Jensen couldn't help but smile at the thought of his big Alpha just about tumbling all over himself to get to the door as quickly as he could. The dogs were there too, right at Jared's side, sitting nicely, but wagging their tails so rapidly that their hindquarters were quivering. 

"C'mon in," Jared said. "Game's going to be on soon and I've got dinner heating up."

Warm, savory odors were drifting in from the kitchen. Just visible through the hallway, in the living room dining room combo area, the table had been cleared of his financial mess and set with candles and flowers. Set with two places, he noticed. 

"I was going to come over and see if you wanted to have dinner," Jared said. 

"There's a game on tonight?" Jensen asked, not able to think of one on the major league schedules. 

"Dude, with my satellite set up, there's a game of some kind or another on whenever you want," Jared said. "Hey, want to forget the candles and flowers and eat in front of the game?"

"Won't Gen know?"

"I won't tell if you won't tell."

***

Later, after the empty dishes had been carried back into the kitchen, Jensen found himself leaning against Jared, resting his head on the man's very well formed shoulders. He analyzed Jared's smell, tried to understand what made it so appealing. It was clean smelling, fresh like a breezy day, but underneath there was something deep like earth that had just been turned over and maybe a hint of clay. And also a dash of something woody, like fresh cut oak boards. It just smelled good in a way that was more than the sum of its parts. He smelled like home and safety and all good things. When Jensen tried to remember what Tripp smelled like, all he could come up with was the scent of the cologne the man wore. 

"You probably think I'm an idiot, letting him clean me out like that," Jensen said during a commercial break. 

"I think you let yourself trust someone you should have been able to trust with anything. I think I love the fact that you were able to trust someone that deeply."

"I can't get over how stupid I feel about it."

"You live, you learn," Jared said. 

Then the game was back on. It wasn't major league football. It wasn't even big ten college. It was college ball, but a couple of smaller schools of the rank that maybe might get invited to some of the bowl games, if they played good enough, and oddly enough, the game was better than most of the big league games he'd watched. It was like the players knew they didn't have the sheer power and size of the professionals, so they had to play harder. 

As passes and downs happened, it seemed natural to snuggle deeper and deeper against Jared's side, until it seemed that he was all but in Jared's lap. Then Jared scooted and lifted and suddenly, Jensen was in Jared's lap, legs off to one side, but otherwise well seated and fully supported, his arms wrapped around Jared's neck. The next step was obvious. It just took a slow turn of the head and then their lips met. 

Jared's kiss was just perfect. His lips were soft but firm. He yielded to Jensen's tongue, allowing his mouth to be breached by Jensen. He let Jensen nibble on his lower lip and softly moaned with the pleasure of it. Jared melted against the sofa back and pulled Jensen after him. It was just the best moment ever- the game just a glow in the background, ice pellets beating against the window but the condo warm and secure around them, dogs slumped into piles on the floor near the sofa, as if this was just normal, as if nothing earth shaking was happening. 

He tried to remember what it felt like when Tripp kissed him, but there was nothing. This moment had crowded all of that out of his head. There was only Jared and there was only now. The Alpha was solid but yielding, breathing heavily. Jensen felt like it he was flying and grounded all at the same time. 

"So, you and me?" he asked when he could finally tear himself away from Jared's mouth.

"You and me," Jared said. "And the dogs. We're a package deal."

As if they knew they were being talked about, Sadie let out a whuphm and rolled over onto her back, inviting belly rubs. Harley looked up, wagged his tail a bit, as if he thought there might be a treat in the offing. 

"Yeah, you, me, the dogs, and the peanut here. We're a package deal."

"Absolutely, may I?" Jared asked. Not exactly sure what Jared was asking for, but trusting him, Jensen nodded. Jared laid one of his huge hands on Jensen's belly. The peanut kicked from within at the touch, just lightly. He was still too small to make much impact yet. Jared's hand was gentle, laid on only lightly. "Hey, Kiddo, I just want to let you know that I'm crazy about your Om here and I'm hoping he'll let me get to know you too, maybe even be your Daddy. I mean, I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself here, but if you're even half as awesome as your Om, that's really special indeed."

***

 

Jensen struggled into his only suit that currently fit. He'd taken it for maternity alterations a while back, but they obviously didn't take it out far enough. Still, he wanted to look his best for his day in court. Slowly he did manage to get the stretchy panel over his big belly. Despite his doctors' dire predictions of miscarriage and abruption, he'd made it to eight months and a bit. The placenta previa hadn't resolved, so he had a c-section scheduled for three weeks from now. All the better to get this over with now, before Peanut was born. 

The white maternity smock covered the stretchy panel of the pants and didn't look too bad once he'd pulled the suit jacket on. He'd picked a green stripe tie, bright silk that seemed to make his eyes shine brighter green. As he was adjusting it in the mirror, Jared stepped up behind him, slipping his big, hot hands under the jacket and smock. Once he'd gotten started, it'd been almost impossible to keep Jared's hands off his belly. 

"You are so hot, babe," he said. "So beautiful. I love you in this suit."

He nuzzled Jensen's neck, burying his nose and smelling deep, ending his scenting with a happy sigh. His hands were warm, even hot on Jensen's belly. And if Jensen wasn't mistaken, little Jared was starting to pay attention in a big way. "I will never get over how lucky I am," Jared said. "You are so amazing."

"Okay, not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but if we don't get going, we're going to be late for my court date."

"Spoilsport," Jared complained. 

They made it to the court in plenty of time, even had to wait a little while until their case was called. Tripp was there, but not alone this time. His mother and father sat next to him. His new new fiancé wasn't there this time. Her name was Lindsey and she was a perfect, petite blonde and she was always beautifully dressed in designer clothes, with lovely jewelry, presumably courtesy of Jensen's broken credit. Instead, there were a couple of new people, obviously attorneys, but not the one that Tripp had used previously. They all rose when the judge called their case, then the attorneys approached the bench. 

Paper were passed to the judge and between the attorneys. 

"What's this? You have motions that you haven't properly noticed?" the judge said. "Explain yourself."

One of Tripp's attorney said, "A motion for Mr. Keller's previous attorney to withdraw. An appearance on his behalf. An emergency motion to vacate your previous order for legal separation, as Mr. Keller's previous representation was clearly inadequate. Our proposed order for full custody of the Omega and another for custody of Mr. Keller's child."

It was like a needle being dragged across an LP. Tripp wanted legal custody, not just of his baby, but of Jensen himself? Wasn't that illegal? Didn't the thirtieth amendment guarantee that an Omega of legal age had the right to vote and have any other kind of self determination as any gender? Only fifty years ago, an Omega like him could be owned, or at least held under the custody of their mate or parent, which amounted to almost the same thing. 

"Mr. Keller is seeking full custody of Mr. Ackles? What possible reason does he have for that?"

"It would be a temporary custody, so as to guarantee the safe delivery of Mr. Keller's child and transfer of the infant into Mr. Keller's care. Sort of a power of attorney and protective order. It's been used before in cases where the Omega isn't capable of taking care of himself."

"I don't care that it's any kind of temporary. I'm tossing this motion out. I won't hear it and Counselor, you know know better than to bring such garbage to my court. It obvious that Mr. Ackles is competent. He's sitting right here in front of me and I see no signs that he is any less competent to determine his own welfare than you. Now, tell me why I shouldn't just toss out this whole pile of motions."

"We believe it is in the best interest of the unborn child to be given to the custody of Mr. Keller, that it's his right as the Alpha parent of the child."

"You know an unmated Omega parent receives full custody unless there is a finding of incompetency. An Alpha is presumed to have no interest in a child unless mated and married to the Omega parent."

Jensen felt sick to his stomach, his gorge rising again. Could Tripp do this to him? Everyone knew that in the case of mating, then yes, custody of children born to that mating went to the Alpha in a divorce and dissolution, but that they went to the Omega parent when born outside of a mating.

"Ma'am, as it's been alleged, in cases like Mr. Keller's, that sharing a residence is indicative of a pseudo mateship. Therefore, Mr. Keller seeks to have his interest in the child protected as if he were mated to Mr. Ackles."

"You're seeking to establish a dangerous precedent here."

"I believe this is merely a reasonable extension of a long standing precedent. Also, we offer proof that Mr. Ackles knowingly endangered the child by continuing to work after a diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidum and placenta previa and doctor's orders to take medical leave. A decision that landed him in the hospital I might add."

"How was this information obtained? That would be privileged information between Mr. Ackles and his physicians. I haven't had a chance to examine the motion, as it wasn't properly noticed, but I can't imagine that this would be admissible. Your honor, this is insupportable. We were here this morning for the final order of restitution. Your order for legal separation has been in place nearly a month now. I don't see what the problem could be with Mr. Keller's previous representation. Was she disbarred? Proven to have disciplinary violations? There has been plenty of time previously for Mr. Keller to rethink his representation."

That was Rachel Miner speaking. She'd been the one to handle most aspects of his case. She was about a foot shorter than him, but she was like a little terrier in court- tenacious and single minded. 

"Mr. Ackles signed off on Mr. Keller having access to his private medical information on the standard HIPAA release form."

How could Dr. Collins' office do that to him? Share his medical records with a man that had left him during a difficult pregnancy like this? He just couldn't believe that Tripp would be so vindictive like this. 

"Well, that's neither here nor there," the judge said. "I'm not going to hear your motion to vacate as it hasn't been noticed. I will grant your motion for Mr. Keller's previous attorney to withdraw and I'll give you twenty eight days to answer for the motion that was up today. Ms. Miner, your motions are continued generally. If necessary, you'll have another twenty eight days to respond to their answer. That's all."

Jensen felt weak. Not only was this not over yet, it might not be over for two more months. It would drag out until long after the Peanut was born. And the only reason the judge wasn't hearing the motion to vacate her previous order was that it hadn't been noticed. That meant if his attorneys noticed properly, they would get it heard. Which meant there was a chance Tripp might get his baby. He laid his hands protectively on his belly. Why would he even want this baby when he'd abandoned Jensen so thoroughly so early on? Jensen glanced over at Tripp standing with his parents. He caught sight of the tight lipped Mrs Keller, talking low and furiously at the attorneys and he understood. It wasn't Tripp. It was Barbara Keller who apparently couldn't stand losing. 

For a hot minute, Jensen thought about calling on his own parents. Not that Rachel, Lauren and Katie hadn't been great, but Ackles' oil money could buy celebrity level lawyers from a big money firm, maybe even get some of the great Omega Rights lawyers on his team. 

A moment later, Rachel was there in front of him. "Wow, they are just throwing anything they can against the wall and seeing if they can get something to stick. People love this eleventh hour shite on TV shows, but you know who hates it? Judges. I really don't think we have anything to worry about regarding custody. No judge is going to award full custody of a newborn to the Alpha who walked out on the Omega who gave birth to that newborn."

"But what about their motion to vacate the separation? He can't do that, can he?" Jensen thought back to the moment when he'd heard that Tripp wanted custody of him. Was his freedom really that tenuous?

"The twenty-eight days will give them time to properly notice their motion, which means the judge will have to hear it. But in a way, that's good. The issue is far more settled if the judge denies it than if it isn't heard. You go home and rest now. Let us handle things. One thing, I recommend calling your doctor. No doubt it's too late to get someone else for your delivery, but you can certainly submit a new HIPAA form that does not give your ex access to your medical records."

Jesus, he couldn't believe this. Even if there was a release for him to have that information, why had Dr. Collins' office given Tripp his records? They knew he was getting legally separated from Tripp. How was he supposed to trust them to deliver his baby now? It was a huge violation. 

"Okay, I'll call them," Jensen said. 

"I'm going to look into what we can do about getting that information thrown out. It might not be admissible if it was gotten after the separation order was entered. So, you go home, have your baby and I'll get back to you in a couple weeks, okay?"

Jensen nodded and let himself be led out of the courtroom, Jared's strong hand resting lightly on his shoulder. 

"Look, this may not be the right time for this," Jared said, as they were waiting for the elevator down, digging into his suit jacket pocket. He pulled out a small box that could only be a ring box. "But I was going to ask you this after today's hearing and I can't see why I shouldn't, just because your ex got himself some fancy, new lawyers. I was thinking, if you like, we could do it right away, like as soon as we could get a license."

"Why so soon?"

"Because it would render Tripp's efforts to get custody of the peanut moot. All children born within a marriage are the Alpha's. I know this is real sudden and I promise we can have a real wedding later, big as you want."

"You'd do this for me?" Jensen asked. He could hardly believe it. He wasn't expecting a proposal from Jared until they'd had a pup together. Jared was correct. If they got married before Peanut was born would completely cut Tripp out of the custody question. 

"Hell, no! I'm doing this for me!" Jared said with a grin. "I want to get the hottest Omega on the East Coast tied down while I've got the chance. What'dya think? Should we do this thing?"

He opened the little box. Inside was a ring with about five sizable diamonds in a row. It was gorgeous and had to have cost more than Jared's stupidly big car. The diamonds sparkled even in the harsh hallway light. Jared got down on his knees, like in one of those cheesy romance movies that Jensen most definitely did not watch, especially not on those long boring afternoons when he was confined to bed rest. 

"Jensen, would you marry me and be my mate? You're everything to me."

Jensen stared down at the big man on his knees in front of him and the yes just slipped out of his mouth. It was ridiculously soon. Not even six months since that first day he got a ride from Jared. But he said yes, then Jared was slipping the ring onto his finger like it belonged there, like it had always been there. It was a little tight, but that just meant it would be a little loose when he wasn't pregnant.

"I'll have to call my parents. My mom will scream if I get married and she's not there. And your parents."

"Let's get going then. I know someone in event planning. She can get us a space last minute and get everything organized."

"I don't really have any money for a space or," Jensen said, worried He was still broke as a joke. Yeah, he could have accounts of his own again that Tripp couldn't get at, but today's court session was supposed to have set up a flow of cash from Tripp to make up for the half million that Tripp had stolen from him, all told, if you counted in overdraft fees, early withdrawal penalties, and taxes. He'd be getting a fraction back of what was stolen, but it was something.

He'd been able to rent his condo, now that he was officially living with Jared and after the management company expenses, it covered most of the costs. He'd borrowed just enough money from his parents to meet immediate expenses. They'd offered him far more, but he wouldn't take it. Once Peanut was born, another one of his trusts from his grandparents would kick in with a monthly disbursement that would cover the basics and then he could get back to work too. But until he got his money back from Tripp, there wasn't anything for extras, like weddings.

"We've got plenty of money for a little party," Jared said. "I don't know how you've done it in the past, but everything that's mine is yours. We're not splitting expenses like you did before. I'm all in."

"I don't want," Jensen said. 

"Anything fancy. Me either. I know it's not really summer barbecue season, but I was thinking something like that."

"Kegs and red solo cups? Even though I can't drink yet? That's not fair."

"When you and Peanut can travel again, we'll go down to Texas, have a blow out pork pull for our families down there. For now, we'll see what we can get done in two weeks."

"Yes, then. Yes."

Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared's neck. Or he did the best he could with his belly getting in the way. Luckily, Jared was good at picking up hints because he stood up, then bent down to allow himself to be kissed. The elevator door still hadn't opened when Tripp arrived. 

He seemed to notice the ring immediately. 

"No, you don't get to do that. He's not yours. He's still mine," Tripp snapped. He shoved Jared away from Jensen, then shoved him again, against the wall. He was nowhere near as tall as Jared, but Tripp had a thick, powerful build and was much stronger than he looked. Jared's nostrils flared with anger but he kept his Alpha well in check. This was, after all, a courthouse and they suddenly had everyone in the corridor looking at them.

"The hell you say," Jensen said, furious. He stepped in between Tripp and Jared. "Get the hell away from me. You have something to say to me, you tell your lawyer to tell it to my lawyer."

Jensen could smell the stink of enraged Alpha behind him, along with the labored breath of Jared working hard to keep a leash on himself. It was flattering, really, both how protective and possessive Jared had become and how hard he worked at keeping himself in line, because he knew that Jensen would want him to. Jensen had no doubt that Jared could rip Tripp apart in any kind of fair contest. 

"You some kind of little bitch, letting some fucking Omega stand in front of you like he's your mommy?" Tripp snarled at Jared.

"You don't get to talk about me like that," Jensen said. "You were the one that walked away."

Tripp's once handsome face, already distorted in anger flared bright red. He threw his fist full force at Jensen but he only connected with the most glancing of blows. Suddenly, Jared was in front of him, tackling Tripp to the ground. Jensen could see a pair of bailiffs descend on Tripp, pulling his wrists behind his back, cuffing him. 

Before long, actual cops arrived and took charge, reading Tripp his rights. His face throbbed where Tripp had connected. Even through it had been a glancing blow, it was painful enough. Jared pulled him out of the way, to a bench and hovered over Jensen protectively, until the cops came over wanting to get a statement from Jensen. Then the EMTs arrived and insisted on checking Jensen out. They eventually agreed with Jensen that all he needed was an ice pack. It took them over two hours to get out of the courthouse from that point, what with the cops and and everything. 

Finally, though, they were able to leave the courthouse, but it wasn't like he could go home yet. He had to figure out if he needed to find a new doctor to deliver his baby at the last minute. They headed right over to Dr. Collin's office. He didn't even get a chance to explain himself to the woman at the desk. Dr. Ferris happened to be standing at the front desk, having just walked a pregnant woman out to the front. 

She narrowed her eyes when she took in his state. Jensen's eye, despite it being a glancing blow and despite the ice pack, had rapidly blackened. She looked suspiciously at Jared for a moment. 

"Good lord, what happened to you?"

"My ex Tripp happened," he said. "Which is kind of what I'm here about. I need to find out how he got my confidential medical information, even after I made it clear we were separated. I need to know if I just fill out a new HIPAA form or if I need to find a new doctor."

Dr. Ferris turned to the office assistant at the desk, "How long until my next patient?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Jensen, I'm going to take you back to my office. I never spoke with your ex, but I will figure out what happened and we will make it as right as we can."

He settled in a comfortable chair, given a cup of herbal tea. In short order, Dr. Collins came in. He hardly waited for permission before he touched Jensen's face lightly, here and there, in a professional kind of way. Jared's alpha must have still been on high alert because he shifted in his chair, gripped the arm rests tightly and might have even growled, just a little, before he got himself under control.

"Probably looks worse than it is?" Dr. Collins asked, finally. Jensen shrugged. "You're not feeling any cramps or signs of labor? You weren't thrown or hit in the abdomen?"

"He didn't get a chance. Jared took him down."

"I just wanted to let you know personally that I did not speak to your ex. Sam is interrogating everyone in the office and we will get to the bottom of this."

Dr. Collins was so sincere, so earnest sounding that Jensen instinctively believed him. 

"I understand completely. You need to know if you can trust me when you'll be in a vulnerable position. We should have thought to have you fill out a new HIPAA form as soon as we knew that your ex wouldn't be part of your pregnancy."

By the time had filled out the new forms, they had an answer. Dr. Ferris brought in a kid, or at least he looked like a kid, that Jensen had vaguely remembered seeing behind the desk. She didn't drag him in by the ear literally, but he had that look about him. He was an Omega and he shivered and seemed on the verge of blubbering. 

"This is Tyler," Dr. Ferris said. "He's new in the office."

"Mr. Keller came in at lunch time and I was the only one on the desk," Tyler said. "And he said he wanted a copy of the ultrasound, hadn't been able to make the appointment. I checked his ID and everything and he was on the form so I thought it was okay. And I think I put more files than I was supposed to on his data stick. I'm really sorry. I didn't know but he was on the form."

So, nothing to do with his actual doctors and almost more his own fault than the office's. He should have thought about protecting himself better. He should probably go over his life with fine tooth comb. Change any passwords that there was a chance Tripp knew. He should get new emails, new phone numbers. New everything. Tripp had proven himself to be a vindictive jerk. Who knew what he would next?

"Hey, it's okay. He was on the form. You couldn't have known," he told the kid. Then he turned to Drs. Collins and Ferris and said, "Accidents happen. So, are we set for the big day otherwise?"

***

 

The wedding was small, not the blow out that Jensen had always pictured for himself, but they'd done what they could in a week. Felicia, Jared's party planner friend, had pulled it out and then some. 

She'd found a bbq place that could accommodate a hundred. It had rustic decor and smelled incredible from the smoker out back. They'd even put away the Carolina style sauce when Jensen had pronounced it as heresy. She couldn't get together a band or even a DJ but the sound system the place had wasn't bad and she'd asked them this and that about music they liked and come up with a ipod playlist that was perfect. Family in Texas, on both sides, had dropped everything and come out for the wedding, many more than Jensen anticipated given the short notice. 

It wasn't like he'd been able to buy any fancy new outfit that Jared hadn't seen him in before, but even so, when Jensen had stepped out and up to the altar area set up by the bar, Jared had cried a little in happiness. After they'd said their vows, Jensen thought he would feel different, but he didn't, not until much later. Sometime while he was poking his way through a plate of beef brisket, he realized that they were already mated, had been since that night he'd come back to Jared's home, and today was just a legal formality and a chance for his friends and family to see what he'd known for months now- that Jared was his home. 

That was when he'd started crying and of course, Jared had to kiss his tears away and pull Jensen onto his lap. It took a while before Jensen got a hold of himself again. He knew he could blame hormones and the pregnancy. He was as big as and house and felt like a hot air ballon perched on Jared's lap, as big as his husband was. 

It didn't matter. They were married. His happy ever after was starting. Someone put a red solo cup into his hand. It was just full of sparkling water and fruit juice. The only thing that would make it better was when the peanut would be here and that was coming in a few days. He sipped his sparkling juice and was grateful for everything he had and everyone who was here with him. 

In the background, the music could be heard. "Red solo cup, I fill you up, let's have a party, let's have a party."

END


End file.
